


Clouds

by scoliatrash



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, title has nothing to do with the story i just love that song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-01 06:03:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13288530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scoliatrash/pseuds/scoliatrash
Summary: Nothing seems as exciting for model Georgia as her first Victoria’s Secret fashion show until she discovers that Niall Horan is performing. But then, a one night stand and some nasty articles force the two deal with the repercussions of their actions while fighting to keep their new and unsure friendship out of the spotlight.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> let me know if i should continue!

Last night was the greatest night of my life. When I got the call that I had been cast for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, I was beside myself with excitement. Then I found out I’d been given the honor of opening the show and the smile never left my face. Not when I got fitted for my outfit, a midnight blue lingerie set with sparkling jewels draped around my torso. Not when I stepped into my shoes, a pair of matching heels that added four inches to my height. Not when they curled my brunette hair or winged out my eyeliner. I couldn’t keep from beaming. Everyone was going to know my name and how hard I’d worked to get to where I was. 

I wasn’t used to modeling underwear, having gotten my start in high fashion. Still, my agent suggested I try for the show and sure enough I made the cut and from there, things only got better. I’d never been so exposed on the runway before, though, and the lead up to the show was grueling. I had to work out more, eat differently, and put on a lot of muscle to compare to the shapely and toned VS Angels. I knew the hard work would be worth it in the end and I would be able to go back to my old diet and workout routine. The day of the taping was a whirlwind by the time I was on stage for the first walkthrough, so was he. Niall Horan was performing his single Slow Hands for the show’s opening number and I had completely forgotten. The first chords of the song played and I stepped out, focused on looking ahead, standing tall, and putting one heeled foot in front of the other. As I reached the end of the runway, I struck my pose and blew a kiss, turning on the ball of my foot to walk back. There he was, coming out on stage to sing the first lyrics.

We should take this back to my place, that’s what she said right to my face…

His voice was soft and soothing but the song was hot, the perfect track for my walk. Our eyes locked and he smiled and I blew him a kiss, still keeping my show face on as I reached the curtain and disappeared back stage. My heart was beating with adrenaline from having just rehearsed my opening walk and seeing a musician who I was a fan of for the first time. I could just feel that this was all going to go perfectly. The girls were still all lined up in order, ready for their own walks but they threw me silent signs of praise and encouragement, smiling and waving as I went to wait for the next run through.

The hair and makeup artists came over to touch up my hair and checked my phone, wishing I could share with my followers what had just happened but I needed to keep the suspense and not show photos of the outfits yet either.

We ran the show twice more before it was time for the taping and each time, Niall locked eyes with me on my way back down the runway, timed with him singing the same line every time.

Cause I want you bad, yeah, I want you baby.

Any girl was crazy not to be attracted to him and I was no different. He had a goofy smile and happy eyes. A cloud of soft brown hair marked his transition from his time in a boy band to coming into his own career. The sensuality of the single was a lot different than the rest of the emotional album but I loved it nonetheless, thinking there could be no better singer performing at my first show. 

The final taping went off without a hitch as the show closed and we all came out, I felt pure elation, my chest swelling with love and excitement for the other models and everyone who had made the show a success. Backstage, a few of the girls and I got ready for the after party and talked about how everything had gone. 

“Georgia, you were amazing! I’m so happy they picked you to open the show, it really set the vibe. Niall was fantastic too and you played off one another so well.” Sara, my closest work friend, gushed as she redid my makeup for the after party. Sara was a makeup artist, popular in the fashion industry and popular through her Youtube channel. She was young, 22 like me, but was already on the same level as people like Pat McGrath and Natasha Denona. 

“Oh, thank you, babe it means so much to me but what do you mean about Niall?” I asked, knowing that my little glances must have been caught but I wanted and needed the confirmation. I looked up at the ceiling at Sara smudged a dark purple liner beneath my eyes, trying to keep skill as her skilled hands applied the product.

“You know what I mean. You were giving each other those looks. Didn’t the director tell you to do that.”

“No, I’ve not actually met Niall, yet, I guess we’re just good at improvising. The rehearsals and tapings were our only interactions.” I shrugged as if it meant nothing but Sara already knew that I was a fan so pretending I wasn’t freaking out was useless.

“Yeah, sure, G.” She laughed, finishing up my eyeshadow and stepping away so I could look in the mirror.

“My makeup looks flawless, as per usual. Thanks, Sara. You think we’ll see Niall at the after party?” I asked, standing up to check out my full outfit. I was wearing a blush colored satin slip dress with a pair of matching blush heels that had little fluffy pom-poms on the sandal. The outfit had been purchased months ago, when I first found out I was in the show. Grabbing my black YSL purse, we headed towards the car that was waiting for us and some of the other girls. I could tell it was going to be a good night.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning in confusion, not recognizing the room I was in. It looked similar to my hotel suite but it definitely wasn’t mine as was evident but the guitar in the corner and the various items strewn about that didn’t belong to me. Rolling over, I saw that no one was beside me but took note of the fact that I was definitely naked beneath the sheets. Cursing myself for not knowing who I had slept with, I slipped out of the bed and went in search of my clothes. Unable to find where my dress had been thrown, I wrapped myself in the sheet and went to look into the living area, hopefully to find out who’s suite this was. 

When I peeked around the corner, I saw him. It was Niall Horan, standing shirtless at the stove and cooking what seemed to be a pile of scrambled eggs.

“Uhm, hi.” I croaked, my voice still groggy from sleep. My head was pounding and my mouth felt beyond dry. All in all, it wasn’t hot.

“Hi, Georgia.” He chirped and I was a bit taken aback at the sound of my name considering I had no recollection of introducing myself to him, but I must have. “I’m making breakfast, have a seat.”

“I…have you seen my dress?” I asked, motioning to the sheet I was wrapped up in.

“Oh, right. Well it’s a little ripped. I’m sorry about that but just grab some of my clothes from the drawers.” He motioned to the room I’d just come from and I turned on my heel, hurrying back to the room to get dressed.

As I fumbled about looking for clothes, bits and pieces of the previous night started to come back. Someone introduced me to Niall and we exchanged the same looks we did on the runway. We chatted and drank and drank and drank, hitting it off almost instantly. We talked about his music and I talked about the show. He called me beautiful and I tipsily called him beautiful as well. Soon we were making our way back to the hotel where everyone was staying, heading to his suite and spending the rest of the night…well, suddenly every little detail was making its way back to me and all I could think was I never expected someone with such an innocent reputation to be so good in bed. 

I managed to find a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and I pulled them on before heading back out to the kitchen and living area, desperate for a cup of coffee. Niall was there waiting for me with a plate of eggs and a hot mug of coffee already at the seat beside him. I sat down and waited in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say.

“How are you not hungover?” Was all I could settle on.

“I’m Irish.” He shrugged and I just nodded awkwardly, blushing as the memories from the previous night swirled through my head. “I had a good time last night. The party was great but I’m glad we decided to come back here. I know we were pretty sloshed but I hope you had fun, too.”

“I did,” I answered, telling the complete truth but averting my eyes shyly nonetheless. I didn’t tend to sleep with guys right after meeting them. “I had fun, too. I’ll be honest, it took me a minute to remember everything that happened.”

“Me too.” He chuckled, the smile on his face infectious. “Listen, I’ve got the day free before my show tonight and I’d love to spend it with you. I thought we were having a good chat last night before we came back here and I’d love to keep it going.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” I nodded, taking a bite of my eggs, careful not to eat too much at once. My stomach couldn’t be trusted after last night. “It’s not going to be a problem with the press, is it?” I asked, not wanting him to feel obligated to take out his one night stand and risk the gossip sites picking it up.

“Uhm, actually they’ve already written some stuff...” He hung his head, looking frustrated and upset with himself as he pulled something up on his phone and handed it over.

‘NIALL HORAN AND MODEL GEORGIA KENT GET NAUGHTY AFTER THE VS FASHION SHOW’

Ex-One Direction star Niall Horan performed at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show last night and who should he be spotted leaving the after party with. Well, it was none other than Georgia Kent, a newcomer who opened the show last night for her first venture with VS. The pair were seen having a ball at the after party and looking a bit tossed as they left the venue and were seen getting into a car together. There’s nothing like an underwear model to corrupt a former good boy!

There were pictures attached of Niall and I leaving the party, bleary eyed and holding hands as we struggled to get into a private car. I stared in shock at the phone for a moment before passing it back, my shoulders slumping slightly. I’d already messed up. I’d wanted all the articles this morning to be about me and the show and how well I’d done but I had to go and sleep with a superstar and screw it up.

“I’m really sorry but most people don’t believe articles like this these days.” Niall seemed genuinely apologetic but I could hear the frustration in his voice. He must deal with this all the time. “I’m sorry if being seen with me kind of stole your thunder. You were really great in the show last night.”

“It’s okay I mean, I left with you so what else was could I expect?” I was still feeling down about the whole thing but I’d brought it on myself and I’d been told when I got into the industry to expect articles to slut shame me and give me a reputation based on nothing but gossip. 

“Come on, I know what will cheer you up. It’s a surprise, though.”

 

Niall’s surprise was mini golf and I had to laugh as his love for golf was common knowledge. I was glad he wanted to take me out and the second we got onto the course I was instantly happy. He helped me use the proper stance and showed me how to grip my club but my aim was still awful. He didn’t let me win either which I appreciated, not wanting him to go easy on me just because I was terrible.

By the time we made it to lunch, the pictures were already on line.

“Oh, god, look.” I sighed, handing my phone to Niall and showing him the photos of us at the mini golf course. He shook his head and handed it back to me, with a serious look in his oceanic eyes. 

“Georgia, you can’t let it get to you. For all they know we’re just hanging out and having a good day together…which we are. We’re…friends who spent a night together, right?”

“Right.” I laughed, relieved that he had no more expectations than I did about where this was going. I needed a friend and just because we’d slept together didn’t mean we needed to be more than that right now. I had a career to focus on, though my friendship with Niall was already overshadowing it.

I ordered a caesar salad and fries for lunch, desperate for some junk food after dieting so harshly for the past month. Niall ordered a barbecue burger and let me have a bite after he saw me eyeing it for five minutes straight.

“So I have no clue if I told you last night but I really love the album. It’s extremely well thought out and the music is beautiful.” I mumbled through a rather unladylike mouthful of fries causing him to laugh that distinctive laugh that sounded like music to my ears. 

“Well, thanks. It was emotional to write but worth it in the end.”

“Which song was the hardest to write personally?” I asked, curious if his answer would register with me and my opinions on the album.

“Flicker. It’s why I called the album that. Once I started writing I just couldn’t stop. All the pent up stuff was spilling out and it ended up in the song.” He shrugged, his face turning red as he spoke and I realized I might be prying into something painful for him.

“I’m sorry,” my face scrunched apologetically, “I didn’t mean to bring up anything difficult for you.”

“No, it’s fine and I’m over it. I just didn’t want to talk about another girl right after we were together. Seems insensitive. I’m over that relationship…the album helped me with that.” He looked down at his plate as he spoke, absently dragging his french fry back and forth through the sauce. 

“If it means anything to you, Flicker is my favorite song on the album. My favorite song in general right now.”

“It does. It means a lot.” He smiled at me and I smiled back and we just sat like that for a moment, looking at each other comfortably. The moment was broken though by incessant buzzing from my phone.

I took it out of my bag to see what was happening and saw thousands of twitter notifications flooding it. Opening the app, I went to see what was happening and saw I was tagged in hundreds of the same photo. It was Niall and I where we were now in the restaurant, him holding his burger out across the table and me taking a monster bite out of the sandwich. I had to laugh at how ridiculous it looked. Some people were calling it ‘goals’ while some were calling me fat or a whore who seduced him. There were a good chunk of people complimenting my work in the show the previous night, though. Niall leaned over to look at sat back with a frustrated sigh. 

“You’re going to have to turn off your notifications.” His said, lips pressing into a tight line. I could tell her felt bad that I was getting so much attention, plenty of it negative.

“All right, no big deal.” I shrugged, turning off my notifications and filtering my mentions before going back to my food. “We should probably get out of here though. Obviously someone’s taking photos.” 

He nodded and gestured to our passing waiter for the check. Niall paid for lunch and I thanked him profusely as we walked back to the car he’d had taking us around all day. As we headed back to the hotel, Niall looked like he was about to ask me something but instead just sat back in his seat and looked out the window. A couple minutes later, he turned back to me, his face flushed again.

“Would you like to come to my sound check and the show tonight?” The words tumbled out quickly, his accent thicker with nerves.

“Are you kidding?” I squeaked, unable to keep from beaming, “I’d love to! I know I got to see you perform last night but that was just one song and I was so focused on my walk.” I laughed, remembering the previous night and how I barely got to see him sing.

“Really? Well then we’ll go back to the hotel to get ready and I’ll meet you in the lobby at five. We can head over to the venue together. The sound check experience is really fun. Some fans will be there and then I have a question and answer thing…I think they really like it.” He was still talking a little quickly and I giggled nervously, an odd flutter in the pit of my stomach making me wonder if being friends was really what I wanted. Maybe I wanted more but we’d have to see. 

As we pulled up to the hotel, I thanked my lucky stars that I had made a friend like Niall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment with constructive criticism.


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